Of the 240,000 vehicles affected in France, Stellantis has only repaired 25,000. Some customers take the risk of using a potentially dangerous car. The UFC-Que Choisir deplores this situation and accuses the automobile group of “carelessness”.
More than 600,000 Citroën C3 and DS3 vehicles are being recalled over possible defects in their airbags supplied by the Takata company, which went bankrupt in 2017. Stellantis has urged customers to stop using their vehicles until they are repaired.
But to date, no solution has been offered to three-quarters of motorists affected by this problem of defective airbags. Having no other choice for transportation, some, like this C3 owner, are forced to continue to get behind the wheel of a car that poses a potential safety risk.
“I constantly drive with my hand in front of my face and the fear of not knowing. The airbag can go off at any time,” Matthieu Garnier told BFMTV.
The risk is very real. These airbags are responsible for several serious accidents due to the deterioration of a gas making them potentially dangerous, particularly in regions with hot and humid climates.
On Monday, UFC-Que Choisir ordered Stellantis to present “concrete solutions” for its customers affected by the defective airbag crisis, denouncing the “negligence” that it says the automotive giant has demonstrated so far.
“There is absolutely no clear timetable announced to consumers,” laments the president of UFC-Que Choisir, Marie-Amandine Stévenin.
“A management that is disastrous to say the least”
In an open letter addressed to Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares, Marie-Amandine Stévenin highlights the “appeals of thousands of consumers, legitimately worried and exasperated by your disastrous management of this unprecedented recall and immobilization procedure.”
Stellantis has created an online platform on which affected motorists must register to receive a code which will allow them to carry out the necessary work.
“Some people have been telling us that they have been waiting for this code for several days and do not know whether their request has been processed. There is total uncertainty,” notes the president of UFC-Que Choisir, who accuses Stellantis of “negligence.”
Contacted by BFMTV, Stellantis assures that 25,000 Citroën C3 and DS3 have already been repaired and 6,000 will be soon. From mid-July, the group plans to set up a home repair program in Marseille. In France, 240,000 vehicles out of the 600,000 concerned have been recalled.
Millions of cars from many brands (Mazda, Ford, Honda, BMW) have been recalled since 2014 for changing airbags from the same supplier.
